Three city men charged in armed robbery, burglary

January 18, 2002

Three city men charged in armed robbery, burglary

Three men were in custody Thursday after robbers armed with a gun, a hammer and a knife broke into a Broadway apartment Wednesday evening, Hagerstown City Police said.

Dustin Justin Trail, 22, of 427 N. Mulberry St., John Aaron Butts, 20, of 25 High St., Apt. 2, and his brother James Emerson Butts, 18, of 258 S. Locust St., Apt. 2, appeared before a bond commissioner Thursday.

As a result, the Butts brothers were being held on $100,000 each while Trail's bond was set at $50,000, a spokesman at the Washington County Detention Center said.

All three were charged with first-degree burglary, armed robbery, robbery, first- and second-degree assault, false imprisonment and misdemeanor theft.

The brothers were also charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police were called to 136 Broadway, Apartment 3ER, around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a disturbance, said Sgt. Mark Renner.

When Officer Dwayne Freeman arrived, he saw a man wearing a ski mask and carrying a handgun running in an alley beside 136 Broadway.

Freeman chased down the man and arrested him without a struggle, Renner said.

"He did an excellent job when he arrived on the scene. He did everything right," Renner said of Freeman.

Other officers went to the apartment and the victims, two men and one woman, said three armed, masked men forced their way into the apartment, police said.

The men said they were going to rob the place, the victims told police.

One man was armed with a handgun, a second had a hammer and the third man had a large knife, police said.

One male victim was pistol- whipped and struck with a hammer. The other male victim was also pistol-whipped, police said.

Neither required medical attention, Renner said.

The three robbers took some personal items and fled the apartment, police said.

The Butts brothers were taken into custody on High Street Thursday morning, police said.

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